Temporary Tattoo
by taylorgoesrawr
Summary: The way he said her name made it obvious that he was trying to cover up the surprise he was no doubt currently feeling.


Okay, so I know that I haven't written anything in a seriously long time, but I hope this is a good start to an apology! I wrote this the other day when I saw the Harper/Dean awkward hug. I'm not going to bore you on why I haven't posted anything, but I will tell you that I'll try to get more pieces up when I can, alright? Oh, and that reminds me! I changed my pen name from Taya Anne to taylorgoesrawr, so I hope you guys don't get confused.

* * *

He fascinated her.

Truth be told, he always had, though he shouldn't in the slightest because he was _that_ type of boy – you know, the kind that you don't mess with? He was known around the school for taking over the bathroom in the second wing with his removable tattoo business and he also just so happened to be a perfect example of what her mother had warned her to stay away from as a child. Most of the time he was rude, didn't regard the rules, and he didn't even have a bedtime! Besides, what business did a _good girl_ like Harper Finkle have when it came to the school bad boy?

Yeah, thats right, they had no business – _especially_ since the boy in question, Dean Moriarty, was her best friend's ex-boyfriend. It was against every non-existent law and code in the equally non-existent girl handbook to have eyes for your best friend's old flame.

If there was one thing about Harper, it was that she was loyal – she would never betray Alex like that.

None of that meant Harper liked him in _that way_ though. No no, that would be absurd – but still, she found herself watching him whenever she could. In these instances, she was often found peering around the cover of a text book or some other random object that she just so happened to have on hand at the time. She felt safe from the penetrating stare of his dark brown eyes when she had something solid to put between herself and him, despite the fact that he was always at least a good three feet away from her at all times.

He never commented on how she observed him when they were within the same room though and that was something that she would never understand, but he did send her the expected questioning look every once in a while that she always otherwise ignored all together. Nobody ever smiled and no words were ever exchanged unless done so by force – this was alright though because she was comfortable with the familiarity of their relationship.

There was one moment that stuck out particularly clear in the mind of the young auburn haired girl though – a moment like a fracture in the glass panel that was the familiar essence of their almost-friendship. it happened to be the moment that she realized that Dean Moriarty was every fear she'd ever developed and every hope she'd ever had rolled into one exceptionally good looking human being, and she now realizes thats what scares her the most about him.

It had happened almost an entire year ago; back when Dean and Alex were still a couple. Harper had been uncharacteristically upset in the sense that she was sitting on a swing in the park with tears in her eyes at the thought of something particularly cruel that Justin Russo had said to her that day. Now maybe she was a little eccentric with her crush on the boy, but did that really give him the right to be so mean to her?

Apparently Dean didn't think so and it was when he sat down on the swing opposite of the one she occupied and tried to use meaningless words to try and help soothe her emotional pain did she realize that he did indeed have a sensitive side underneath all the stereotypes that surround him.

Even though that moment was never spoken about after it ended, Harper couldn't help but think that maybe she'd gotten a glance into what Alex had originally seen in Dean all along.

Now though, in the present, Harper Finkle lingered nervously in front of the boys bathroom in the second wing. She tried to convince herself that she didn't know why she was there, that she had no idea why her feet had carried her to such a location or why she was even out of class in the first place, but she knew. Her stomach flipped and jumped into her throat at the thought of walking through that door to see him.

Maybe she should leave, maybe she should just turn around and walk away, maybe she should..

All of the doubts in her mind were forgotten as she pushed open the wooden door with her small hands, the hinges protesting at the movement with a loud _squeak _as if to announce her entrance.

Harper had never been in a boy's bathroom. With one look at the one she was currently standing in though, she wanted to turn around and never enter one again. The doors on the stalls were either completely ripped off or just barely hanging on by the hinges, the mirror above the sink was cracked, and there were objects sticking out of the walls that reminded her of water fountains – she didn't want to know what they were used for.

Tearing her eyes away from the probably very unsanitary place though, she saw him. He was sitting on the window sill with his feet propped up on the sink, where the tools of his trade lay scattered across the porcelain counter – from what she could see, the temporary tattoo that was closest to her was a bright purple dolphin. The heavy wooden door to the bathroom closed behind her with a soft _click _and she vaguely realized she was holding her breath as she watched him look up from the ipod that he was currently scrolling through.

"Finkle." Dean exclaimed upon registering who it was, immediately ripping the little black headphones from his ears as if he'd miss something important if he kept them in. The way he said her name made it obvious that he was trying to cover up the surprise he was no doubt currently feeling. It was a vain attempt though, and it made the auburn haired girl smirk. "You wouldn't have come to get a tattoo, would you?"

"Well actually, that's exactly what I came to do."

Dean looks even more surprised now, obviously having expected her to say no and run away with a typical Harper Finkle nervous giggle that always seemed to erupt from her mouth when she was with him. His eyebrows were raised as if they were trying desperately to meet his hairline – but then, he surprises her too. A grin sprouts onto his features, and its infectious because she finds herself grinning back. "I knew you'd come around."


End file.
